In this life I believe that you have to be human.
You have to treat other human beings as human.
You cannot build a wall around people and throw them in a ghetto.
Sometimes a people will put on blinders and think that they can do what ever they want.
Well, Life does not work that way.
I know little of history, foreign policy but Gaza seems to be at the forefront of even my child’s concerns and imagination.
I return time and time again to Martin Luther King’s acceptance speech on receiving the Nobel Peace prize, The Quest for Peace and Justice.
He speaks of the dichotomy between our inner and outer world.
“There is a sort of poverty of the spirit which stands in glaring contrast to our scientific and technological abundance. The richer we have become materially, the poorer we become morally and spiritually.”
In addressing this need for community, and koinonia in our lives, Michelle and Barack Obama have begun to lead us on a path for the greater good and to urge us to enrich our lives in one of the few ways possible, service.
Dr King laments our loss of connection with the world often expressed in “art, literature, morals and religion”. Without a connection to this world and a higher good, our efforts at technological advancements will be but a façade. Look at global warming and our treatment of Mother Earth while we honour the insatiable quest of many for greater and greater material wealth.
“The problem of spiritual and moral lag, which constitutes modern man’s chief dilemma, expresses itself in three larger problems which grow out of man’s ethical infantilism. Each of these problems, while appearing to be separate and isolated , is extricablely bound to the other . I refer to racial injustice , poverty, and war.”
I ask my child, how many of these issues do we have in Gaza?
I do not believe that the walls fell in Berlin because of some rockets that we sent or some homes and lives that we blew up. I thought that people are attracted to true Western democracy because of the hope for peace, freedom, and love in their lives.
By the grace of God, now seems to be the time that man is blessed with fearless leaders, spiritual warriors who understand the wisdom of love.
We are called the people of the book, historically we may have been blessed with receiving the laws and Torah, but life is a democracy now. And it is the potential for synergy that often gives us our greatest gifts.
How important was it to every person who cast a vote for Obama? They felt that their voice mattered and by being part of the decision, they will have ownership over the solutions.
I close on one note because I am from the tribe that honors the education, morals and the world of knowledge.
An emerging female star and another gift from God said yesterday that building schools is foreign aid not foreign policy.
I venom tally disagree, hence this humble essay.
I told my child that we need to go into the Gaza and build schools, get the mothers on our side.
Later I realized that by building schools and having our say about the infinite beauty of Western democracy, freedom and peace in the lives of these people, we would accomplish more.
If their community can not step up to the plate and improve the lives of their fellow Muslims then it is our golden opportunity to help the people help themselves. We can never disagree that the people of Gaza are our brothers and that our lives are intricately intertwined.
And going further, helping someone create a job for themselves with anonymity is one of the highest mitzvahs. It follows that by increasing the wealth and basic survival of the emerging nations, we only move to expand the economic markets and improve the lives of all our children.
And so I reiterate, building schools is not foreign aid. The power of knowledge… I know that if I can imagine anything then it exists. If I can dream it, then I can make it a reality.
With great gratitude, I look upon the coming years as the greatest of our time, for perhaps we will stop feeling so lonely and hold the hand of our friend beside us.